Blood Bonds Don't Make Families
by A MARVELous DC Time Lord
Summary: People may share the same blood, but that does not make them family. The Pines twins will have to find out how to build bonds out of the broken remains that they once called their family, with those whom they only know by blood.
1. Two Tickets to Oregon

((Thank you so much for letting me know about the code! Seriously, I really really appreciate it. I really should check after I post...This has been happening a lot, anyone now how to fix it?))

Hmmmm...first gravity falls fic, eh?

XxXxX

Take deep breaths. Focus on a point in the distance. There. A pine tree. Closer. Closer. Whoosh. Gone in a blur of green, retreating far behind, just like the sprawling hills of California. Replaced by endless dark forest. Pine tree after pine tree after pine tree after pine tree, pine tree, pine tree, pine tree, pine, pine, pine, pine, pine...one after the other...gone. Forever behind. Just more pines in the past, never to be seen again. And just with that thought, the past comes hurtling forward, hitting like a freighter and the memories consume reality.

XxXxX

"Hey dipper! I'm bored, there's nothing to do!"

"Diiiiiiper!"

"DIPPER!"

With a long suffering sigh, he closes his book and calls back, "Mabel! I'm trying to read, entertain yourself!"

He could hear her exasperated huff,"But there's nothing to do! It's dark and rainy outside!"

"Well watch some tv!"

"Fine!" He reaches back for the book, rolling his eyes before opening it again and delving back into the the story, the steady lull of the rain acting as background music. But scarcely a minute had passed before the lights flickered once, then the house was plunged into darkness. Dipper jumped, his book falling to the floor with a unnaturally loud crash. Bright light from a lightning strike outside illuminated the room briefly before a massive crash of thunder shook the house to its foundation. He barely heard Mabel's footsteps pounding up the stairs, before she burst into the room, almost knocking the door off its hinges.

"Di-" she began, before he cut her off.

"Yes yes I know, then powers out. But there's not much we cons do about it now. Let's go get some candles or something, I guess." He pulled a flashlight out of his bedside drawer and they headed back down the dark hallway. It was eerily quiet, the storm outside only adding to the horror movie effect. Dipper inched forward, ready for any imaginary monsters that might come leaping out of the shadows. Suddenly a hand with a steel tight grip wrenched him backwards, a gravely voice snarling in his ear. Dipper shrieked, a sound that would have made a banshee proud, and collapsed the floor. His heart was beating out of his chest, all his limbs shaking as his 6 year old night mares played out in front of his eyes.

"Ha ha Dipper! Oh man, I can just imagine your face, I'm sure it was priceless, and that shriek!" Mabel leaned against the wall for support, laughing hysterically.

"Not funny Mabel." Dipper said, trying to sound serious as he got to his feet, but it only sent her into further laughter. "Come on," he growled, stomping off into the hallway, glad for once the darkness could hide the embarrassment flushing his face. In just a few moments they were back in dipper room, lit by the weak flickering lights of the candles.

"Ooooooh scary, let's tell ghost stories." Mabel laughed, sticking her face right near the candles glow.

"Ha ha very funny, but it's almost 11 and mom and dad said that we needed to be asleep before they came home at 11:30, so I'll be going to bed. I prefer not being grounded." Mabel stuck out her tongue, in mock discontent.

"Looks like I'll be sleeping in here tonight, huh bro?"

Dipper laughed then with a shove pushed her off the bed, "yeah, on the floor." They both laughed and eventually got settled down, Mabel in a nest of pillows and blankets on the ground, and Dipper peacefully in his bed.

"You know what dipper?" Mabel so as softly.

"Hmm?" Dipper groaned, too close to sleep to speak.

"You have way too much blue in your room."

Dipper let out a sleepy chuckle, "shut up, now go to sleep."

"Night dipper." And with that she rolled over and blew out the last brining candle.

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM. the both shot up, all sleep shocked out of the twins systems. Their eyes flew wide open, only to shut again with a groan of pain from the bright sunlight streaming through the window. "Wh-what's going on?" Dipper cried.

"I think it's the door." Mabel replied. They cautiously crept out of bed and into the hall, Dipper out in front, his arm across Mabel behind him. Before unlocking the door, he nodded to Mabel, who grabbed the baseball bat propped near the door. The door swung open, and a police man clutching his hat in his hands was standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Uh-hey there. Are you two the Pines kids?"

"Ye-yeah that's us, why?" Dipper inquired, his mind going through all of the "stranger danger" stories that his parents had pounded into his head as a kid.

"Well, I'm Officer Parkinson, and in afraid I've got some bad news. You see kids, yesterday, at diamond canyon park-" there was an identical intake of breath from both of them. That was their parents favourite place in the city. "We found your parents. I'm so sorry. They died in a freak lightning strike, they were standing under a tree you see and well, somehow they both got hit and the park was empty. There was nothing anyone could have don't, I'm sorry kids. I really am." The officer was wringing his hat now, and gazing down at the floor.

But to Dipper, there was no one else in the room right now, or the world, or even the universe, it was just him and the news that was there. It was slowly wrapping itself around his mind like a vice, squeezing everything out of him. Dipper was frozen as his mind was reeling at untold speeds trying to comprehend what he had just been told. His limbs stopped working and he collapsed to the floor,

not seeing or feeling anything. Except the tears pouring down his face, thick and hot like blood, searing and scarring like acids trails down his face, scars that would never leave. Time slowed and so did everything inside him, he no longer even felt the need to breathe. But his heart kept pumping. It was impossibly loud, thumping and echoing inside his head, reverberating around like whispers, screaming to him "dead dead dead dead dead dead" he began to shake, clawing at his head, trying to make the darkness to away.

It felt like a great burnt inferno has sprung up in his chest and it was eating away at him. But this fire wasn't bright, no, it was a dark fire, consuming whatever hope had been there before and burning it to a crisp. But no, this was permanent, as permanent as death itself. It just hurt so bad, everything aches and burned and he spasmed, his mind trying to go to a different universe just to escape all this pain. But no. They were gone. Everything he knew and loved was gone and it hurt so bad, this darkness consuming he just wanted to die. He would have welcomed the sweet release of death from this living hell. Until, one single movement shattered everything, suddenly he wasn't so alone. There was an outstretched hand, extending towards him. It was his only lifeline, so with all his remaining strength he took it, gripping it as tight as he could, as it raised him from perdition. And then everything after that was a blur, time, space, colours, thoughts, sounds, all were meaningless background noise. All that mattered was the hand that never let go, clamped down on his with an iron grip. Until they were wrenched apart, and out in separate, cold empty rooms, with only a bed inside. And Dipper collapsed, unable to move or think and simply cried into

unconsciousness.

The next day was the funeral. It was a haze of black and rain. It seemed the perfect scene for a funeral, dull grey and raining. But dipper cursed that rain with all his heart, that rain, that storm was the whole reason that they were here in the first place. The reason they were orphans now. He barely heard the sermon, a man he had never known nor cared to know, drone on about how great his parents were. This man has never met then before in his life, how dare he claim to know how amazing and loving they were? Were. Past tense. Gone. And yet again he collapsed back into his own mind, unable to accept reality. The sharp thunk of the shovel, throwing dirt over his parents cut into him, deeper than any blade ever could. And then all these pretenders with their fake tears and fake sympathies were gone, back to their own lives, unaffected by this past hour of their life they had spent here in this cemetery. How dare they tell him to continue on with life as if his life hadn't just collapsed in on itself, nothing but rubble now? Dipper collapsed into the mud in front of the cold, unfeeling tombstones, his chest constricting as huge heaving sibs bursting from his chest. His tears mixing in with the rain streaking his face. His hands shaking as they curled into fists so tight his nails cut into his hands, blood pooling down his wrist into the mud below. He couldn't move, couldn't do a thing. Until that miraculous hand came back, and it pulled him to his feet, and they hugged, twin sobbing from both, clutching the only thing they had left.

XxXxX

Something nudged his shoulder gently and he was shaken out of his reverie. "Look Dipper." Mabel said softly, before slipping her hand into his and squeezing once. He gripped her hand tightly and glanced out the bus window, reading the large sign passing by, "Welcome to Gravity Falls"

XxXxX

So what did you think? I'd love to hear from you!

(also to all of you waiting for my Civil War story, I swear I will be uploading another chapter soon!)


	2. Welcome to Gravity Falls kids

The bus slowly grinds to a shuttering halt, the rancid smell of gasoline flooding the bus's interior as the door creaked open. The wet, sticky heat clings to both of their skin as the twins griped each other's hands tightly once more before leaving this one place of familiarity and into the vast looming unknown. Dipper inhaled once, the humid air making it feel like he was inhaling pure liquid, and started making his way towards the looming doorway. The tightening in his chest was getting worse every step he took, the sheer thought of what lay behind that door eating away at his mind. The guy could be insane, a psychopath, maybe a murderer, could be homeless or an alcoholic, he could be an abuser, or a criminal. Heck, the police hadn't even told them the man's name before shipping them off, much less a picture. The realisation that they didn't know a thing about this man they were going to spend the rest of their minor lives with was terrifying. Dipper could feel the wave of panic that roared up inside him, threatening to break at any moment. The future was massive and terrifying and unknown, and he had no control, he was was helpless to whatever life would throw at him next. Who knows when your future will throw you a curveball, or a lightning strike? He hadn't realised that he had stopped and was starting to shake until Mabel put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Come on Dip, we can't hide in this bus forever. Trust me, I want to too. But we need to...we have to keep on moving." Dipper was taken aback for a moment, who knew such wisdom could come out of...of Mabel? He didn't trust himself to speak, so he just gave what he hoped was a brave nod, then continued down the eerily empty isles. It was strange, the entire bus had emptied out before the city limits. Even the bus driver, who was stoic and stony, seemed a bit dazed when they passed by him, even waving goodbye. But Dipper hardly even noticed a thing, before he stepped out into the blinding sunlight. His hand flew up immediately to shield his eyes, but even so, he was blinded for a few moments. By the time his eyes adjusted, Mabel was next to him, staring intently at whomever was standing just in front of them. Dipper shifted his gaze upwards, finally being able to see this man who would be their guardian. The first thing he noticed was the crimson fez perched upon his head, with a strange glittering gold symbol. That was a plus in Dipper's book, fezzes are cool. He kept on moving down, some coarse grey sideburns the only sign of hair on the top of his head. He had massive black rimmed glasses that took up half of the man's face, and glinted in the bright sun. The other half of his face seemed to be taken up by a large nose, looking to be quite textured, covered in lumps, scars and was a permanent pink color. His mouth was set in a nervous smile, looking about uncomfortable as Dipper felt. The man had a massive chin, broad and clearly hadn't been shaved in a couple of days. He was wearing a suit, which seemed a bit strange to be picking up some kids in, but maybe he wanted to impress them. The red bolo tie also seemed very strange, but maybe it was the fashion among old people nowadays. Dipper concluded that he didn't _look_ like a psychopath, but then again, who ever did?

The man cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable, and said, "Uh, hey there kids. My name is Stanford, but you can call me Stan. Or Uncle Stan if you prefer. Although I guess I'm your Great Uncle so maybe Great Uncle Stan?" Stan's voice was deep and gravelly, but still was not unpleasant to listen to. But there was no way that Dipper was letting his guard down. They still knew next to nothing about this man, and in all his years of reading, he knew that no one was ever what they seemed. That small voice in his mind was whispering all the horrible possibilities of what Stanford might be was stirring up his panic into a frenzy again. No. He could afford to be paralysed by this man. If he was going to have to live with him, he needed to be fully alert and functioning. Mabel suddenly rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Stan

. "How's about I call you grunkle Stan? You know, a mix of great uncle. It's way more fun to say!"

Stan let out a small laugh, "uh sure kiddo, whatever you what I guess."

Dipper cautiously stuck out his own hand, "I'm dipper. This is Mabel." Stan seemed a bit surprised that a twelve year old was acting so formally, but still shook his hand firmly. "Nice to meet ya kid." He walked behind them, and grabbed their suitcases, brushing off their weak protests. He unceremoniously threw them in the back of the trunk and popped open the back door for them. Dipper didn't know what to think of the car. It looked kind of old, but maybe that was a sign of a high up status? In lots of books and movies the rich people had old cars, but this one looked pretty beat up. The boys at his old school probably would have known everything about this car, for a reason he could never understand they all were obsessed with cars. But nonetheless, he clambered in after Mabel. Of course dipper still made sure to check all the doors, and Windows, mentally planning our escape routes and leaving his door unlocked. Better paranoid than dead. They started down the bumpy road, and Mabel struck up some mindless chatter with Stanford. Dipper tuned it to background noise and gazed out the grimy window at the town that lay beyond. It seemed sort of...hick. That was the only word to describe it. Everything was wooden and log cabins. Sure it was civilised enough but compared to California? It was pretty hickish. Dipper immediately began to mentally berate himself. He sounded exactly like a stereotypical California kid, stuck up, snobbish and thinking everything and everyone was below him. Now he was going to have to prove to everyone and himself that he definitely wasn't.

"Okay kids, here we are!" Stan announced, the car grinding to a halt. Dipper looked up, taking in the place where he would be spending the rest of his life as a minor. This place looked extremely shady and shabby. The roof was falling apart and it was grimy. But it wasn't the worst he had ever seen, it could work. Stan hauled their suitcases out of the trunk and they followed him upstairs. Dipper had gotten himself so deep into thought that he didn't even take in his surroundings. Next thing he knew, they were in an old attic, with beds on either side, only illuminated by the weak coloured light streaming through the stained glass window.

"Uh, alright kiddos, you are probably tired from that long bus ride, so just make yourselves at home and relax, okay?" Stanford said, before quietly closing the door behind him.

"What do you think dipper? I think it's not too bad! It could use a poster or two, but I think i can work with it."

"Yeah Mabel, I bet you can make it more homely." Dipper replied. They set to work in silence, unpacking their belongings, trying to regain that sense of familiarity. Dipper flopped done on his bed, surprised that it actually was quite comfortable. But in the rush of arrival, neither of them noticed the dark clouds encroaching on the horizon and with a thunderous clap, rain started pouring down. Dipper shuddered and grit his teeth together in an attempt to keep from panicking, but it wasn't working. But there was no escaping a storm, was there? So he chose the next best thing, escaping reality. Headphones slipped over his ear and found the oh so familiar Undertale playlist. He pressed play, and his favourite song came on. He glanced at the title and a small smile played across his lips. "It's raining somewhere else" how fitting, it seemed almost unreal. And so, the soothing music lulled him to sleep, away from the rain vying for him.

XxX

 **So I think all that exposition stuff is done for now, the actual plot will be starting. And Dipper will be less mopey I swear. It means so much yo me when y'all review, so if you want to make a poor authors day, drop by the reviews! Thanks for all those who have already done that!**


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